Offence:Pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual intercourse without consent.

Sentence: Jailed for a maximum four-and-a-half years,with a non-parole period of two-and-a-half years. He will be eligible for parole in May 2020.

Other: Mulholland watched and followed a young 19 year old woman into a laneway in Hamilton in what was described as a random and “predatory” attack. Mulholland was “seriously and significantly” bashed by a group of inmates who made clear to him why they were assaulting him. He has since been moved into protective custody.

‘Santa’ child sex attacker jailed

A man who sexually assaulted a child in Melbourne 29 years ago only to be caught last year after applying for a job as Santa Claus has been jailed for a minimum of 15 months.

Raymond Wayne O’Brien, 51, will be eligible for parole next year, having already served 216 days in custody.

O’Brien was initially charged in November 1977, but gave police a false name and fled to NSW. He was caught when he applied for a job as a Santa in 2005.

The victim, who cannot be identified, said she was “very happy” with the sentence, even though Judge Michael Bourke said many would take the view that the length of the jail term imposed on O’Brien did not reflect the gravity of the crimes.

Judge Bourke sentenced O’Brien to a maximum of three years and six months in jail, adding he was constrained by the maximum sentence, which in 1977 was five years.

“At the end of the day, what I wanted was for him to be on the sex offenders’ list,” the victim told reporters outside court. “He got more than what I expected.”

Judge Bourke said the behaviour displayed by O’Brien – who pleaded guilty in the County Court to three counts of indecent assault last month – would “revolt any decent person”.

“She lost her innocence and was then insulted and humiliated,” he said.

O’Brien attacked the girl, then aged 11, after grabbing her from a laneway in Oakleigh, on October 13, 1977. Repeatedly threatening to break her neck, he assaulted her three times. Forcing her to take $2.30 after the ordeal, O’Brien told the girl she would be called a prostitute if she went to the police.

O’Brien’s lawyer, Stewart Bayles, earlier told the court that while his client had admitted most of the offences to police, he no longer remembered the attack because he was a chronic alcoholic at the time.

But Judge Bourke said: “Your intoxication does not reduce the level of your moral culpability, which was significantly high.”

Judge Bourke told the victim he “greatly admired” her courage and dignity that she showed throughout the court case. “I wish you the very best for the rest of your life,” he said.